1982 New York gubernatorial election

The 1982 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic Governor Hugh Carey chose not to run for a third term, which resulted in an open race. Democratic nominee Mario Cuomo, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, narrowly defeated Republican Lewis Lehrman, a banker who ran as a conservative.

1982 New York gubernatorial election

November 2, 1982

Nominee Mario Cuomo Lewis Lehrman Party Democratic Republican Alliance Liberal Conservative Statewide Ind. Running mate Alfred DelBello James L. Emery Popular vote 2,675,213 2,494,827 Percentage 50.91% 47.48%

County results Cuomo:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Lehrman:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Hugh Carey Democratic Elected Governor Mario Cuomo Democratic

Both candidates had been considered unlikely victors of their respective parties' primaries. Cuomo had unexpectedly defeated Ed Koch, the Mayor of New York City, to win the Democratic nomination. Cuomo was considered a political liberal who worked to revitalize the New Deal coalition. Entering the race as a political novice, Lehrman reportedly spent $7 million to boost his profile through advertising, beginning as early as January 1981. Lehrman ran a law and order campaign, referring to criminals as "savages", and on fiscal policy pledged cuts to the state income tax.

Cuomo ultimately won what was described as "a classic left vs. right battle" by a 50.9 to 47.5 percent margin, buoyed by voters in New York City. Cuomo would go on to serve three terms in office before ultimately losing reelection in 1994.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mario Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor of New York and former Secretary of New York State
• Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City since 1978

Declined

• Robert Abrams, New York State Attorney General
• Carol Bellamy, New York City Council President
• Hugh Carey, incumbent Governor of New York since 1975

The Democratic primary shaped up as a rematch of the 1977 New York City mayoral election between Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch. Koch won a Democratic primary runoff narrowly over Cuomo and then defeated Cuomo, running on the Liberal Party of New York ticket, again in the general election. In the meantime, Cuomo had been elected Lieutenant Governor in 1978 and Koch had been re-elected to a second term as Mayor in 1981.

Governor Hugh Carey announced he would not stand for re-election to a third term on January 15, amid low approval ratings and nascent challenges from within his own party, including by Lieutenant Governor Mario Cuomo. After Carey announced he would not run, New York City Mayor Ed Koch entered the race. His decision in turn discouraged Robert Abrams and Carol Bellamy from running.

Campaign

Koch's status as the early front-runner was quickly derailed by the publication of an interview he had given to Playboy in late 1981, in which he exalted life in New York City and denigrated suburban and rural lifestyles in comparison. On a trip to Albany following the article's publication, Koch was booed loudly. He described the interview as "foolish" and apologized to upstate voters.

Both candidates emphasized their respective records. Cuomo differentiated himself by his opposition to the death penalty, and attempted to link Koch to Republican politicians and President Ronald Reagan. Nevertheless, at the June party convention in Albany, Koch received the party's endorsement with 61% of the vote.

Despite an early pledge of neutrality, Governor Carey endorsed Koch late in the campaign. Cuomo criticized Carey's decision to endorse Koch, and called Carey "a good Governor and a lousy politician.''

Results

Results by county

  Cuomo

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Koch

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Tie

•   50%

Cuomo's victory was considered a "stunning upset" by the New York Times that relied on "an unusual coalition of liberal Democrats, labor, minorities and upstaters." Koch ran strongly in Jewish communities, while Cuomo won black, liberal, and Italian communities by a similar margin. A key to Cuomo's victory was his strong showing in New York City itself; though Koch won the city and its four suburban counties (Rockland, Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau) as expected, Cuomo kept the margin close and won half of the city's Assembly districts. That, combined with large victories in nearly every upstate county, allowed Cuomo to win.

Koch endorsed Cuomo immediately, declaring "what's important to all of us is that we keep a Democrat in Albany."

1982 Democratic gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mario Cuomo	678,900	52.34%
	Democratic	Ed Koch	618,247	47.66%
Total votes			1,297,147	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Paul J. Curran, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• Lewis Lehrman, investment banker and former president of Rite Aid

Declined

• Edward Regan, New York State Comptroller (ran for re-election)

Campaign

Lehrman spent heavily to raise his profile as a political novice. He spent over a year campaigning before the primary and spent a record $7 million, more than half of which was his own money. He began running television advertisements in January 1981. Curran spent less than $500,000. The Harvard Crimson summarized Lehrman's unexpected rise to victory:

"Lehrman saturated the airwaves and took the Republican primary in a romp, reportedly spending more than $6 million of his own money for that initial race alone."

Lehrman was also boosted by the endorsement of the Conservative Party, which was said to "strongly influence" the primary as it had in 1978, giving Lehrman a "head start" against the field. After he received the endorsement and it became evident the Conservative Party would stick by it, Edward Regan declined to run. Regan was widely seen as the leading candidate for the nomination. Regan's decision may also have been influenced by his reliance on Wall Street funding, which was largely devoted to Koch.

Lehrman utilized harsh rhetoric on the issue of crime, referring to criminals as "savages" and criticizing the Court of Appeals for deference to defendants. He pledged "systematic" cuts to the state income tax and raised the possibility of a sales tax reduction.

Results

1982 Republican gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lewis Lehrman	464,231	80.59%
	Republican	Paul J. Curran	111,814	19.41%
Total votes			576,045	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Jane Benedict (Unity)
• Robert J. Bohner (Right to Life)
• Mario Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor of New York (Democratic, Liberal)
• Lewis Lehrman, investment banker (Conservative, Republican, Statewide Independent)
• John H. Northrup (Libertarian)
• Nancy Ross (New Alliance)
• Diane Wang (Socialist Workers)

Results

1982 New York gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mario Cuomo	2,559,607	48.71%	N/A
	Liberal	Mario Cuomo	115,606	2.20%	N/A
	Total	Mario Cuomo	2,675,213	50.91%	-0.04%
	Republican	Lewis Lehrman	2,248,741	42.80%	N/A
	Conservative	Lewis Lehrman	230,153	4.38%	N/A
	Statewide Ind.	Lewis Lehrman	15,933	0.30%	N/A
	Total	Lewis Lehrman	2,494,827	47.48%	+2.26%
	Right to Life	Robert J. Bohner	52,356	1.00%	−2.73%
	Libertarian	John H. Northrup	16,913	0.32%	−0.08%
	Unity	Jane Benedict	6,353	0.12%	N/A
	New Alliance	Nancy Ross	5,277	0.10%	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Diane Wang	3,766	0.07%	−0.20%
Total votes			5,254,705	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold